Just Like the Story
by Kitsune's Dark Shadow
Summary: Danny is a loser at Casper High, normally trampled over and left out, but is that really who he is? While fighting some ghosts one night, he unknowingly catches the eyes of a certain white haired prince. DPDF Yaoi/BL
1. Chapter 1: Hot Pink

A/N: HELLOO!! Kitsune's Dark Shadow here! Man, I really hate my username. It's way too long…

Anyway, this fic is gonna be a Danny/Danny pairing. IT'S SO CUTE!!!!!! –smiles- I don't know why I like it so much, but I think they're the perfect match! Sam/Danny is okay to me, but this pairing has to be the best. Well in my opinion. So people who don't like yaoi, then don't read!

For future references, information about this stories setting will be explained in later chapters. Sorry if this gets confusing. I am doing my best and am getting writer's block on the second chapter. Not to mention that I just lost my notes on the next chapter!

Kitsune: –takes- out some fresh cupcakes from oven-

Aries: What are those for?

Kitsune: I am going to hook up Danny and Phantom! These cupcakes are fore luring them here!

Aries: And you expect them to be lured by cupcakes…why?

Kitsune: cuz they like sweets! So I told them to come here if they wanted some today! They'll never resist!

Aries: You know that Sam likes Danny right? She's sure to show up too. Especially to YOUR house.

Kitsune: Yeah, but I'll take care of her… But for now! LET'S GET ON WITH THE FIC!! WOO HOO!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM!!

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 1: Hot Pink_

"FRIGHT KNIGHT!" A thunderous voice boomed throughout the castle.

The armor clad ghost rushed into the study room where Pariah Dark, the King of all Ghosts stood, looking strangely agitated.

"Yes, my lord?"

The king sat down on a cushioned chair and sighed. "He did it again."

Fright Knight raised an eyebrow. "You mean attack another suitor, or escaped again?'

"Both." He said simply.

"_AGAIN!?" _Fright Knight gasped, "That's the third time this week!"

Pariah frowned. "Yes, he went to Amity Park again." The powerful ghost massaged his temples to keep a headache from coming.

"You set him up with a girl again didn't you?" The knight accused blankly. The king gave a slight nod. "You know he's gay, why do you keep doing that?"

"It's just so difficult to find a husband for him! At least I tried to get him to like girls… Plus, it's about time he got married! But with all the trouble on the far side of the Ghost Zone… I haven't had much time to look for a suitor!" Pariah growled out.

Fright Knight frowned at the trouble mentioned. "I've heard." He said, dropping the subject on the boy's marriage. "There's still the matter of the rogues to discuss."

Pariah's expression turned grim. "Yes, they are causing too much trouble here and in the human world, though that's not the only thing that worries me."

Fright Knight uttered one word. "Plasmius."

"Yes," Pariah replied. "Ember and Desiree informed me of the rumors going around in the farther end of the Ghost Zone."

"I take they are bad?"

The king let out a deep sigh. "They say rumors of a revolt are forming."

"_A REVOLT?! _How _dare _those ghosts plan such things?!" Fright Knight bristled.

Pariah waved the other off. "Just small rumors my friend. We must await more news on this issue before taking any action."

Fright Knight still didn't seem convinced, but reluctantly dropped the subject. "So, shall I send someone after Phantom?"

"No, he'll come back after he spends some time with his friends." Pariah inwardly smiled at the thought of his son's companions.

Fright Knight grinned. "Ah, you mean young Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley?"

"Aye, I'm glad he has friends like them. Two of the few people who don't run away screaming, 'Ah! Ghost!' when they see him. Truly trustworthy."

"What do you think they're doing right now?" he asked casually. He wasn't surprised at the fact that some humans still were uneasy about ghosts especially Phantom, roaming around in the Human world. After all, the pact was made five years ago.

"I would say eating at that restaurant or fighting off some rogues." Pariah guessed.

Fright Knight vaguely wondered why anyone would want to eat at a place that was called 'Nasty Burger', but didn't ponder on it too much. His thoughts traveled to the rogues in Amity. Many rogue ghosts evaded and attacked the town, but were usually put back into the Ghost Zone by Phantom, or the local ghost hunter, the Red Hunter.

The young woman was known as the 'Red Hunter' because of her red outfit and hunting skills. He learned from his observations that the young girl was actually a sixteen year old girl that attended Casper High School and secretly hunted ghosts. She was not to be taken lightly since her aim was as good as perfect and her weapons deadly. Fright Knight had encountered Valerie once, but was unfortunately mistaken for a rogue. The experience was not one he wanted to relive. His rear end has never been the same again.

Before Valerie's time as a hunter, there was Jack and Madeline Fenton. They were expert ghosts hunters and raised two children at their home at Fenton Works. Maddie was very skilled, and her aim was brilliant, more so than the Red Hunter's. Her husband, Jack Fenton was a bit incompetent, but his inventions were top-of-the-line, even though they did have stupid names.

Jack and Maddie were the best in town, until the accident three years back, resulting in Jack's death and later Maddie's marriage to her college friend, Vlad Masters. The man soon constructed and moved into an extension to the Fenton Works building into a smaller version of his mansion/castle in Wisconsin.

Thinking back, Fright Knight remembered the rumors that were spread amongst the rogue ghosts two years after Vlad moved to Amity. That was the day Plasmius had started to plot with the rogues and the day a new ghost hunter had arrived.

Fright Knight, as well as other ghosts that hung around Amity, were barely able to catch even a glimpse of the new hunter. The first time Fright Knight had seen the hunter was six months ago. He had been surprised, mostly because of his age. The hunter was a teen, about the same age as the Red Hunter and was incredibly fast and agile, for next thing the old ghost knew, he was compacted into a cylinder like container and pushed back into the Ghost Zone. The only thing that Fright Knight saw of the teenage hunter in that encounter was his white streaked raven hair and his eyes with unusual outlined green rims around the blue hues.

He had talked about this new hunter with Pariah, but he also was down right clueless of who the hunter was. This was obviously not someone to underestimate.

Fright Knight was brought out of his train of thought when the sound of the door being opened bought his attention. He saw Pariah flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye when Dora walked through the door.

Dora wore a pale blue dress, and was still wearing her hair in a medieval time fashion. She flashed a smiled at Fright Knight before stalking to Pariah with an expression on her face that he particularly did not like.

"Pariah…" She said calmly. "Did you set Phantom with _another _girl?" Fright Knight could easily see the calmness in her voice was masking her complete and utter anger.

"Uh, he deserved it!"

Fright Knight snickered at his lord's nervousness at the Queen of Ghosts, but quickly shut up when Pariah sent him a glare.

"What do you mean he deserved it?! Your son is gay and you set him up with the wrong person! You know he hates it when you do that to him!" Dora's eyes glowed red before going back into their normal blue hue.

"Well, I couldn't find any male suitors for him!" Pariah defended.

"THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN GET HIM WITH A GIRL!!" Dora growled. Pariah could see his wife was trying to contain herself from turning into a dragon, and involuntarily gulped when he saw her eyes flash red.

The female ghost closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before opening them again. She was pleased when she noticed Fright Knights and Pariah relax.

"What did he do anyways?" Dora sighed as she leaned on her husband. He put an arm around her shoulders.

Pariah looked at Fright Knight then at Dora. "Well, remember when I got Phantom and Paulina on a date last week?"

Fright Knight and Dora nodded stimulantly. "Well, he got his revenge this morning."

Dora and Fright Knight couldn't really blame Phantom. The girl, Paulina Sanchez, was the shallowest girl they had ever met.

There were times when she saw the pink obsessed girl wrap her arms around her son and drag him from one place to another. The white-haired didn't look very pleased with it since he had an annoyed expression on his face when she was with him. She noticed how he paled when she squealed every time she saw him.

Dora nudged him to keep going. "Well…"

"Spit it out, Pariah!" Fright Knight urged, forgetting that he was talking to the King of Ghosts. Pariah didn't seem to mind because he then muttered something incoherent under his breath.

"What did you say?" The queen asked.

To Fright Knight, Pariah had a look with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

"He spray painted my crown hot pink." He said simply.

Fright Knight and Dora suddenly noticed that Pariah was not wearing his crown like he usually did. It was one of his two items of power that made a ghost's power increase ten fold. The other, which was on his finger, was the Ring of Rage and the crown was known as the Crown of Fire.

Dora gave Pariah a look Fright Knight could not recognize. "You know, I would do the same to you if you set me up with someone I didn't like."

Pariah didn't say anything but sigh tiredly. "Well, I'd better get back and find a good punishment for him."

Dora nudged him softly. "Go easy on him. He's already stressed out with your suitors and the attacks in Amity."

"What attacks?" Fright Knight questioned suddenly. He hadn't heard of any major attacks in Amity ever since the pact was made. "What happened?"

Dora lowered her eyes sadly. "Some rogue ghosts were attacking Amity yesterday night. Nothing big happened, except that the ghosts were actually attacking students in the Casper High School. Samantha and Tucker were two of the attacked."

Fright Knight opened his mouth to say something but Pariah held out a hand for him to stay quiet. "Some students were there at school that night for after school activities, so not many students were injured. If that's what you wanted to know." Fright Knight remained silent.

"Luckily," Dora continued, "a hunter was able to stop them before anyone was hurt too seriously."

The knight blinked. "Who?"

"We don't really know, Desiree and Ember weren't able to see who it was because he was already gone by then."

Fright Knight raised an eyebrow. "He?"

"Yes, he. It wasn't the Red Hunter." Pariah answered. "I'm guessing he's that unknown hunter you encountered about six months ago."

The other ghost nodded, troubled by the attack and the unknown hunter. He never did like mysteries.

"What ghosts were attacking?" Fright Knight asked curiously.

Pariah rubbed his chin before answering. "If I remember correctly, it was Skulker, Walker, Johnny 13, and his shadow."

"All of them at the same time?" Fright Knight blurted out. "They clearly want something from the school or from the students if the rogues are sending those four!"

"We have not of yet found out what they wanted." Dora replied. She looked at Pariah expectantly.

Pariah let out another sigh when he saw the look. "I suppose I'll drop the punishments today."

'_He's gone soft.' _Fright Knight mused after a while. _'No doubt it was Dora.' _

"Anyways, once we locate Skulker, Johnny 13, Shadow, and Walker we'll question their goal." Pariah stated flatly. "And I doubt they'd be good."

Tbc.

* * *

Shadow: OH YEAH! I FINISHED THE CHAPTER!!! -Checks watch- they should be here in about an hour… 

Aries: I'm gonna invite some friends over. This is gonna be good. Lovers spat… Wait till Hades here about this. HAHAHAHA!!!

Shadow: READ AND REVIEW PEOPLE!!!!


	2. Chapter 2: Lack of Thereof

**A/N: **I got only one thing to say. I got my inspiration back.

Anyways, I would like to give thanks to the people who have reviewed for my story.

So, thank you: animegurl088, The 13th Unlucky Jinx, RegiGod, Bunny Bubble, Sillvog, Kyuugi, hikarisailorcat, A Fool With Hot Chocolate, yami4eva91, Wapecilove, Dream's Abyss, RavenGhost, Evilwings, holyfanfictionbatman, and broken0dream.

I thank you for waiting for the next installment of Just Like the Story.

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 2: Lack of Thereof_

_In the basement of Tucker's house..._

Sam and Tucker glanced at their best friend out of the corner of their eyes. The white haired teen had been strangely silent, and they were starting to worry. After the incident at school, Phantom had been constantly in thought and somewhat depressed. His usual neon and bright green eyes had dulled and there were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. (Unknown to most people, ghosts do require at least 3-4 hours of sleep to recover their energy.)

Sam sighed and turned the TV off with a click from the remote control. Phantom didn't seem to notice that the fight scenes his eyes were glued to had disappeared into the black void.

Sam felt her eye twitch. Tucker quickly took the remote from Sam before she could crush the electronic, and threw it square at Phantom's head.

"Ow!" He seemed to finally be back on Earth now. "Tucker! What was that for!?"

"That," Tucker said, "Was to wake you up."

"Are you okay, Phantom?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Yeah, man. You seemed out of it… like some kind of zombie!"

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "Zombie?"

"Dude, you didn't blink. And you look like you haven't slept for days!" Tucker said.

Phantom sighed and rubbed his temples. "Two days to be exact."

Sam took a sip from her now cooled hot chocolate. "What's bothering you Phantom?"

The ghost gave a grin. Sam and Tucker could see it didn't reach his eyes though. "Nothing's wrong, just tired is all."

Sam rolled her eyes and Tucker shook his head.

"Phantom, we know something's up, so save me a migraine and spill." Sam glared at him to make her point.

"It's something about the whole fiasco two days ago, isn't it?" Tucker asked quietly. The dark skinned boy's hand unconsciously drifted to his bandaged arm.

Phantom sighed. As much as it made him feel happy that the two worried for him, he hated the fact they could read him like a book. He thought for sure he looked normal today.

"Guys, I'm just frustrated." Phantom confessed sourly, looking away. "I should have been there to help everyone."

Tucker laid a hand on Phantom's shoulder. "Dude, you couldn't have known. You can't tell the future or anything."

Phantom glanced at Tucker with a self loathing look. "But I could have stopped them!"

"No, you couldn't have." Sam said. "It was totally unexpected."

"But I should have been there! I could've-!"

Phantom jumped when Sam suddenly slammed her hand onto the coffee table. The tremor made ripples in the three hot chocolate mugs. "Don't go blaming every bad thing that's happened on yourself, Phantom!"

"Yeah, man. Besides, you didn't really think we humans couldn't take a little abuse now, did you?" Tucker said proudly, thrusting his bandaged arm out like it was a badge. "It would take a lot more than just three-"

"Four. Johnny had his shadow with him, remember?" Sam interjected, counting her fingers along.

"Four, ghosts to take us down." The African American boy continued.

Phantom stared at the two before grinning. "Thanks guys."

"No prob, Phantom, but if you ever get depressed, just think of this." He held out his PDA to the ghost's face and showed him a picture he had been saving for some time now.

"Wha- Oh my god." Green eyes widened and Phantom stifled the laughter bubbling in his body.

Tucker gave a smile that rivaled the Cheshire cat. "Oh, yeah." He was about to tell him about the photo's history when suddenly the, what Tucker and Phantom both dubbed, 'Aura of Impending Doom™' descended around the entire basement. The both paled though, (Phantom was a color that could be labeled transparent) when a low voice spoke behind the huddled pair.

"What is on your PDA, Tucker?"

Even though the voice was low and quiet, the absolute silence in the room seemed to only maximize its volume. Phantom and Tucker could practically _feel _a sort of cold and purely _menacing _force rolling off of Sam. Phantom vaguely wondered how human Goths seemed to do what ghosts never could; freak the living hell outta people without screaming at the top of their lungs.

Tucker could almost picture little red devil ears pop out of Sam's hair.

'_Sam's scary when she's mad!' _Tucker quickly pushed his prized piece of electronic into his pocket and put his hands up in defense."Uh, nothing, Sam. Hehehe… why do you ask?"

Beside him, Phantom sighed and shook his head at the lame and incredibly weak excuse. He pitied the poor guy who was unfortunately facing the wrath of the she-devil.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Tucker Foley. You're hiding something that either: a) needs to be burned in the lowest level of hell, b) angers me that is enough for you to never again see a piece of technology _ever. Again_, or c) something so horrible that I would be forced to beat the living crap out of you and sell a photo of the aftermath of it on eBay."

Phantom could've sworn he heard Tucker's thoughts screaming, 'OH DEAR LORD, NO!'.

Tucker gulped visibly, a bead of sweat dripped down his head. "Um, uh…"

With Tucker temporarily mentally down, Sam grabbed his PDA from his pocket with a precision of a snake and glanced at its screen. It was the exact moment that Sam's eyes widened, when

Tucker gained back the ability to speak and think of a proper excuse.

"Well, you see Sam, I got lost on the road of life and took a few-"

"_Tucker…" _

"Dude, how could you have gotten lost on the 'road of life'?" Phantom asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

Sam's eye twitched and she drew a deep breath.

"I heard it in a manga, but hey, it could happen." Tucker said, shrugging his shoulders.

"But there's only one way." Phantom pointed out.

Tucker blinked. "Oh, I guess-"

"_TUCKER! FOLEY!_"

Tucker jumped and sweated at the sight of Sam looking obviously pissed and... was that embarrassment? He gulped. "Y-yes?"

"...Where did you get this photo?" Sam's hand clenched tightly around the PDA.

Tucker didn't say anything, but stare at her with his mouth open.

Sam's glare never wavered. "Answer me or your precious PDA gets it."

Now that response really got to him because the second she finished saying that, he immediately leapt off the leather chair with a somewhat crazed look in his eyes. "NO! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! BUT PLEASE, SPARE PAULINA!!!!"

Phantom whipped his head towards Tucker, his eyes wide with shock and alarm. "You named it-"

_"PAULINA_??!!" Sam screeched. _"YOU NAMED YOUR PDA AFTER THAT SHALLOW WITCH_?"

Unknown to the two arguing, Phantom was slowly inching away from them. He did not want to get involved, especially since he knew where this conversation was going to go. Yet, he couldn't help but shudder at mere name of _her. _

"Hey! Paulina isn't a witch!" Tucker defended. "She's just misunderstood! I'm sure that if I can take her out on a date sometime to Nasty Burger, we'll definetly connect!"

"Oh, and what makes you think she'll want to got to Nasty Burger if you ever do get a date, huh?" Sam retorted, throwing her hands up to empathize. "She'll just demand to go to some fancy restaurant than eat that poisoned rubber in Nasty Burger!"

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST MEAT!?" Tucker screamed back.

And there they go again.

Tired of watching the two ping-pong retorts, Phantom rubbed his temple. He could already feel a headache coming on. Sparing them a last glance, the prince of ghosts fazed through the walls and into the night's cool air. Phantom sighed and flew his way towards the park. It had always been a good place for him to think…

An owl blinked owlishly as the white haired prince landed silently in front of the park entrance.

…especially about Sam and Tucker's 'savior' he'd overheard Desiree and Ember report the night before.

_

* * *

In an apartment complex at the edge of town…_

The door bell rang, causing the 16 year old girl to jump at the sudden sound.

"Valerie! Can you get the door!?" Called a voice from down in the basement.

Valerie put down the ecto-gun on the couch and stood up, wincing at the crack heard from her neck. "'Kay dad!" Valerie opened the door, expecting her science partner there. The boy had been egging her on on their science project for some time now. "Look, Foley, it's _your_ turn to- Danny?"

Valerie blinked at the unexpected surprise before she immediately pulled the thin boy in. "What's wrong? Do you need help? Are you hurt?" She eyed his body for any possible injury. Her brown eyes drew her to the blood soaked sleeve of his white shirt.

Danny was pushed onto the couch with an 'oof!' and watched blinkingly as his close friend examined and prodded his arm. "Um, hi Val."

"You're hurt!" Valerie frowned, examining the wound and got out a first aid kit. "What did you get yourself into?" The long haired girl ignored the 'hey!' when she ripped his shirt sleeve and cleaned it with an alcohol pad. The cut looked deep and the sheer amount of blood made her slightly dizzy.

Danny rubbed his bandaged arm after she treated him and smiled gratefully. "Ah, thanks, Val."

"No problem." Valerie said, sitting beside him and kicking the kit under the couch. "So…" She narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"

"Huh? Oh, just a gho-"

"Ah hah! So it was a ghost!" Valerie confirmed jumping up and held her ecto-gun. "Who was it?! I'll tear them apart molecule by molecule until-!"

"Calm down, Val! It's just a scratch!" Danny insisted. No matter how much he appreciated it, Valerie always was strangely over protective over him, even on a scary level.

"'Just a scratch?' _'Just _a _SCRATCH!?' _You could've _died_ from the blood loss!" Valerie argued angrily with hands on her hips.

Yes, just like that.

Danny smiled reassuringly. "Val, you know I can't die from something like that, since I technically already am." He joked.

Valerie sighed as Danny grinned lopsidedly and dropped back down on the couch. "Jeez, you gotta take care of yourself anyways, Danny. Normal people would've been unconscious by now."

"I'll keep that in mind." Danny said.

"So, what brings you here?" Valerie asked after a pregnant pause. Don't get her wrong, she did enjoy being around her friend, but for the skinny teen to go all the way here meant something was definetly up. "Is it Lad? He causing' you any trouble?"

"The old fruit loop's always doing that." Danny said sourly.

"When has he not? All his schemes are enough to turn our lives into a soap opera." Valerie grumbled, polishing her ecto-gun with a rag.

Danny sighed. "…He's up to something." The teen said grimly with his hands intertwined under his nose. Valerie glanced at him questioningly. "I think he was involved with the incident at school two days prior."

Valerie looked at him in alarm. "How is that possible? He was in a meeting in Wisconsin at the time."

Danny looked away out the window. It was a full moon in the clear and starry sky. "I don't know… but I think he's the one who sent Skulker and the other ghosts to school." Here, Danny sighed tiredly. "I just don't know why."

Valerie grinned suddenly despite the troubling news. "Who knows what goes in his head? The only ones who probably do are his ghost vultures."

"…He really needs a cat." Two voices said in unison.

Danny and Valerie looked at each other before breaking out in laughter.

Danny looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It pointed half past nine. "It's time about time for rounds. Wanna come?"

Valerie saw the shy and slightly pleading expression in Danny's baby blue eyes and couldn't help but grin at the endearing sight. Danny looked far too innocent to be such a deadly ghost hunter like he really was. (She had his stats on her laptop to prove it.)

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

_In a parking lot not too far away..._

"BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST!" The ghost screamed what Danny thought was threateningly. "FEAR MY CUBIC MINIONS OF DOOM!" The Box ghost wiggled his fingers to emphasize the word, 'doom'.

Danny's hand gave off an eerie green glow and he blasted the ghost into a tree. "I thought you said this was a level four ghost!"

Valerie prodded none too gently on the ghost detector around her wrist. "Damn. Stupid thing must be broken." The girl, clad in her red jumpsuit, blasted the box obsessed ghost to Danny who captured him into the Fenton Thermos.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." Danny muttered as he screwed the cap tightly.

"YOU CANNOT SILENCE THE BOX GHOST!" The Box Ghost cried from inside the thermos. "BEWARE!"

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his white streaked hair. "Jeez, it's the fifth time he's escaped the Storage Room this week. (1)

Valerie grunted. "That ghost's just asking for his butt whooped."

Danny agreed. He was about to say something when Valerie's ghost detector went off.

"Level 8 ghost detected. Repeat, Level 8 ghost detected. Location; straight ahead." It said in a cool monotone voice. "You'd have to be some kind of idiot to not know that there's a Level 8 ghost straight ahead."

"Level 8?" The Red Huntress mumbled looking straight ahead like the detector said. "I don't see a-"

"AH!" Danny fell to the concrete with an 'oof!' and looked up, only to find a pair of dark green eyes staring at him.

"Danny!" Valerie immediately turned around and aimed her bazooka at the green ghost on his chest who was… licking him?

"Cujo!" The dog barked happily and slobbered Danny's face, his tail wagging all the while. "I missed you too, boy!" Danny laughed, picking the hyper puppy in his arms.

Valerie lowered her weapon and rubbed the dog behind the ears. "Hey, Cujo. Man, I haven't seen him in weeks."

Danny petted the ghost dog. "I wonder where he disappeared to."

Valerie shrugged and glanced at her watched. "Yikes, it's pretty late. I told Dad I'd be home before 11." She jumped onto her glider. "See you at school tomorrow!" And with that, she took off towards the direction of her apartment.

Danny waved and he too flew home with the pup still in his arms. (The little guy would follow him anyways.)

When the sight of a majestic looking mansion came into view, Danny phased through the roof and landed tiredly onto his bed. Slowly, his hair lost its white streaks and if one could see behind his closed eye lids, the green outlining his irises had vanished.

Five minutes later, Danny was sleeping peacefully with Cujo curled on his chest.

Tbc.

* * *

(1) The Storage Room is a place where a ghost goes after been sucked into the Fenton Thermos and inserted back into the ghost zone. 

Please read and review!


	3. Chapter 3: Reaper

**A/N: **-bows lowly- Sorry I haven't been updating this much. Things have just gotten complicated lately. I'm sorry, but I felt guilty all of the sudden when I noticed I hadn't updated this in like… three months. So, with my sincere apologies, and I bring you the next chapter of Just Like the Story, (which will eventually be just like a story (or stories).

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters. So, don't sue me.

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 3: Reaper _

'_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!' _Danny muttered under his breath as he ran down the empty halls of Casper High School.

Today, he knew was going to be a bad day. He had realized this the moment he'd woken up that morning.

First, his alarm hadn't gone off, and he had woken up an hour late. After frantically putting on his usual clothes and feeding Cujo some strips of bacon (ghosts didn't need to eat, but Cujo was one to indulge himself occasionally) his ghost sense just _had _to act up the moment he stepped on the pavement.

And it just so happened to be the Box Ghost again.

With his newest minion too.

The Bubble Wrap…of Doom.

After kicking the ghost clear to Tuesday and capturing him into the Fenton Thermos, he sprinted straight to school, looking rather frazzled.

Thus, concluded Act 1 of his bad day, although he knew it would get worse sooner or later.

The brunette skidded to a stop and hastily wrenched the door open, panting softly. Half the class gave him somewhat annoyed expressions, all too used to his lateness. Danny inwardly groaned when the teacher— Mr. Lancer, gave him a pointed, yet dull look.

"Late _again, _Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer asked him flatly, lowering his book and leaning against his desk.

"Yes Mr. Lancer. I was… wrapped up this morning." Danny's eyes caught Valerie's gaze staring at him questioningly.

Mr. Lancer sighed at his student. He loved teaching, but honestly, kids these days… The papers stacked on his desks mocked him with their chicken scratch handwriting and pathetic excuse for an essay filled with incorrect facts.

_'King Arthur had 15 sons and ate chickens everyday? And he had bad fashion sense?' _

His students were complete idiots.

And '_wrapped up?' _Was that some new 'hip' saying these kids were coming up with these days?

"Well, take your seat, Mr. Fenton, and I expect no more tardies for the rest of the week, clear?" The boy could never be on time for a _month, _he knew.

Danny took his seat, which was by the windows to the right of the techno-guy with the red beret. "Yes, Mr. Lancer. "

The bald teacher gave him a look, before he raised his book higher and addressed the entire class. "Take your books out and turn to page 57. Your assignment is to read chapters 4-5 and write 5 passages in which you find interesting and why." He gave everyone the, 'Huckleberry-Fin-if-you-don't-all-do-it-I'll-make-sure-your-GPA-suffers-horribly' glare.

Danny shuffled through his backpack and turned to the correct page in the red coated book. The simple plain script of _Romeo and Juliet_ adorned its worn cover and along its spine.

"Hey, dude, what page are we supposed to be on?" The techno-guy— Tucker Foley— he remembered, asked him quietly, eyes quickly glancing to the teacher and then back to him. Danny saw the PDA being peaking out of Tucker's pocket.

"57." He answered quietly, eyes going back to the words in his book.

"Thanks, man." He heard Tucker whisper.

Danny continued reading, but twitched when he heard a faint tapping noise. The raven haired youth saw Valerie casually tapping her pencil tip on the desk in different intervals.

To anyone in the classroom, the mere action was insignificant, just an annoying noise, but Danny knew better.

/Did a ghost show up or something this morning?/ Valerie messaged, her eyes giving no indication of associating with anyone since she stared bored in the book's text. Danny's right hand twitched, and he answered with his pencil tapping on the desk too.

/Yeah, apparently the Box Ghost wanted to introduce his new friend, Bubble Wrap./

Valerie hid a snigger. /I see, but didn't we just catch him yesterday? How'd he get out so fast?/

Danny shrugged his shoulders, hoping Valerie saw the slight movement.

/No idea, but I think he's getting some help from the Rogues. Hoe he got them to help them, or why they even bother to help him, is beyond m—/

"Ow!" Danny yelped and rubbed his neck. He turned and glared at the football player. "Dash! What was—"

"Mr. Fenton, please quiet down." Mr. Lancer ordered blandly, his gaze firmly on the pages.

Danny turned around back to Dash, with an angry frown. "What was that for?!" He whispered.

"Your pencil tapping, Fentoni." Dash sneered.

Danny growled under his breath and rubbed where the pen poked him. He could feel the slight imprint left by the sharp point. He turned to look at Valerie, whom appeared to look sympathetic.

"Okay class, put away your books and clear your desks. Assignments will be due tomorrow, but for now, Pop quiz on yesterday's reading!" Mr. Lancer announced as he took out papers from his desk and passed them out to the students.

Danny groaned, as did the rest of the class.

He hadn't even read the reading.

* * *

Valerie frowned when she saw the dark bruise on Danny's arm and the way the younger boy limped as he approached her and stretched out on the grass. Danny sighed contently, reminding Valerie of a cat stretching in the sun. 

"Where'd that come from?" Valerie asked. Her frown grew when she saw the bruise become a dark purple on his skin.

The raven haired boy grinned, touched from her concern. "Ah, just a small bruise. Dash and his cronies just wanted to use their favorite punching bag for a while."

It wasn't anything new. He often got bullied at school by Dash and his gang because of him being a 'geek' and having a small figure, but he didn't do anything about. He knew he could knock Dash out without breaking a sweat any day, but… he didn't like nor want to. Besides, a couple of bruises and a mild sprain weren't serious.

Unknown to him though, Valerie had his tormentors on her hit list, and all those guys had been properly dealt with, whether it be directly or indirectly.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately) Danny was completely oblivious and had no such idea what she did whatsoever.

"Oh yeah, I brought lunch. Hungry?" Danny asked leaning against the tree and opening his backpack.

Valerie jolted from her plotting and her eyes glinted when the word 'lunch' slipped from her friend's mouth. 'Lunch' was a good word when coming from Danny. Unlike the food in the cafeteria, (which tasted like grass) Danny's homemade lunch were… were…

"Dear god, I think I'm in heaven." The dark skinned teen purred as she took a bite of a rather delicious pastry. No one knew this, but she first hand knew that Danny was a brilliant cook. She was praised on her cooking skills, but Danny's was. His cooking was delicious, even Clockwork had admitted so.

Valerie's stomach growled avidly at the food Danny presented and let out a pleased grin when she tasted the apple pie. She thanked every god up there that allowed her to feast on desserts and entrées like these everyday.

Beside her, Danny nibbled on his sandwich and sighed contently as the warm spring breeze flied past, and played with his hair.

"You'd make a wonderful bride someday." Valerie cooed suddenly.

Danny choked and sputtered hoarsely. "W-What?!"

"I said, you'd make a good bride one day to some lucky groom." Valerie said.

"A _bride_?!"

Valerie blinked, innocence, or pure evil dancing in her violet hues. "Of course! You're perfect wife material!"

"W-What?! But I don't swing that way!" Danny sputtered, turning red.

Valerie snorted and grinned like the devil. "Oh? You know, most girls don't go for guys prettier than them." _That, and I saw you checking out and being checked out by some guys. _

"Pretty?!" No way in hell! He was not _pretty_! The correct term was _handsome_! Men were handsome, and girls were supposed to be called pretty! "And quit questioning my preferences!"

Valerie hid a smirked Danny continued to deny. It wasn't just an assumption. Give her one day, and she could get him wanted by girls AND boys.

Danny's rant, however, was cut short when his cell phone, (curtsey of Vlad) rang.

"Hello?"

"_Hey little brother!"_ A cheerful voice chirped from the other end of the phone.

"Jazz!" Valerie saw the smile gracing Danny's face and leaned forward eagerly. It had been a while since Jazz had called. "How are you doing?! How's your trip going so far?!" Danny was nearly bouncing. He had missed his sister very much since the two years the older Fenton had had gone on a road trip with her latest 'client'. Valerie moved closer, eager to hear both parts of their conversation.

"_I'm good, and Nevada's not too bad. You?" _

Danny hm-ed, tinkering with the half moon key chain hanging from his cell. "I'm alright."

There was a small pause on the other end.

"Is Vlad treating you alright?"

Danny grimaced. "Yeah. He hasn't been around much, thank god."

"_Be careful though, little brother." _Jazz warned, voice grim. _"The rogue ghost situation has lately gone down thanks to King Pariah, but I heard rumors from Freakshow that Vlad however, is up to no good. Him being away is a bad sign, especially if we don't have an eye on him." _

"I know."

"How is ol' Freakshow anyways?" Valerie asked, changing the subject to something less grim.

"_Hm? Oh, hey Valerie! Freakshow is good. He's more at peace, now that I'm helping him." _

Danny and Valeri chuckled. They wondered what people would think if they knew that Jazz; the A-student and overall perfectionist was a _ghost's _psychologist and traveling with a gothic circus.

There was noise in the background. _"Uh- Sorry, Danny, but I gotta run. I have a session with Freakshow in five minutes. Bye, little brother!" _

"Love you, Jazz!" Danny called, before there was a 'click' on the other line.

Valerie looked at him. "You know she's doing fine, and enjoying herself. Don't get depressed."

"I know, but… I miss her." Danny sighed, shoulders lowering. Valerie bit her lip.

The sudden ringing of the bell signaled the end of lunch.

* * *

"Okay, let's see…_Ghostly Whispers_, no…_Gothic Ghouls_… tempting, but no… Ah! Here it is…_Ghosts: A Guide for Amateur Ghost Hunters_!" Painted black nails swept to the book's spine, and pulled it from the library shelf. 

Sam flipped through its yellowed pages and stopped when she sensed someone was watching her. She looked up…

Tucker craned his neck over his shoulder. "Hey, Sam, check it out! I found someth-"

…and found a pair of glowing green eyes.

Tucker leapt up from his seat in front of the computer when he heard a girlish shrill shriek. He ran towards the owner of the scream and blanched at the sight. Of course, he shouldn't be too surprised.

Sam was on the ground, screaming (well, whispering- it _was _a library after all, and the librarian was _scary _when she was pissed) profanities at the sheepish looking ghost teen.

"What is it with you and sneaking up on people! It's no wonder some people still go, 'Ah! Ghost!'! It all comes back to you, doesn't it?!" The pony-tailed Goth hissed venomously.

Phantom scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to."

Sam mock growled, before turning to Tucker. "So, what did you find before this _annoyance-_" A sharp glare to the apologetic phantom. "Interrupted?"

Tucker grinned and gestured the two towards the computer. "Just something I found while surfing the net."

Phantom and Sam looked at the screen, blinked, and then glowered.

"'The Watcher's Eye'? Wait, that's the site that had my photos in it!" Phantom growled angrily. He glared at the web page adorned with hearts and little ghosts framing the pages, as if it could burn into pieces with enough negativity to it. The Watcher's Eye was a website on the Internet that posted pictures of 'The Hotties' of Amity Park. The girl whom obviously created the site (because of all that pink) even had a top ten list! Ironically, he had found the site purely by google-ing his name with Sam and Tucker last year.

And he was Number 1 on the list.

And there were even comments definitely NOT suitable for children to see!

"Pray tell, Tucker. Why are you on this page?" Sam asked, annoyed.

"Just look." Tucker clicked on a link, and Sam's eyes grew wide.

"Wait, that's the guy from that night!" Sam voiced their thoughts.

"Exactly." Tucker maximized the photo, which showed a close up photo of the teen looking over his shoulder to the camera.

The goth frowned. _'So that's the guy that helped us… He looks really young to be ghost hunting.'_ She inwardly chuckled. Yeah, but so were they. She glanced up at the prince and frowned.

"Phantom?" Tucker looked up too, puzzled by the way his friend was so silent and staring the photograph with strange intensity.

"Hey man, you still there?" Tucker touched his shoulder and the ghost glanced at Tucker to Sam before landing back at the ghost hunter. "What's up?"

"I don't know, but doesn't he look a bit familiar?" Phantom asked them.

Sam looked skeptical. "Well, I would know if a someone like that walked by me with a freaking scythe in hand."

Phantom rolled his eyes.

"He kinda reminds me of that kid in Mr. Lancer's class." Tucker said suddenly.

"Hm? What kid?" Sam frowned. Phantom listened eagerly.

"Uh, what's his name… Danny something." Tucker shrugged. "The kid Dash picks on a lot."

"Wait, you mean 'Fenton'. The boy that has English, P.E, and Science with us?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Anyways, he's nice, but kinda spacey sometimes. I don't know, but this guy…" Tucker clicked on a link, which gave a short description and history. "'Reaper', everyone's calling him, reminds me of Danny." Tucker said thoughtfully.

Phantom's lips twitched as he stared curiously at Reaper.

_'Well, I guess I'm gonna have to check up on this, 'Danny Fenton' then.'_

The sudden ringing of the bell signaled the end of lunch.

* * *

_'Why me… fine, I know why, but WHY NOW?!'_

He was in science class when it happened. A blue wisp escaped his mouth and he inwardly moaned in dismay. It was also when Valerie's ghost detector gave a sharp ring and blinked a dull green.

Instantly, Danny and Valerie raised their hands in unison.

"MAY I BE EXCUSED?!"

The teacher turned around from his writing on the board, and blinked. "Why, Mr. Fenton? Ms. Gray?"

The two glanced at each other, and as if they had communicated mentally, they both said the same thing again in unison. "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM."

The whole class looked at them with smirks.

"STOP THINKING THAT!" Perverts, they all were!

The teacher hid a smile at their red faces and nodded. "But remember to watch out for-"

Danny and Valerie were out of there before he even was able to finish his sentence.

"-the wet floors." The brunette teacher sighed at the tell tale sound of surprised 'oofs!'. Kids these days…

--------------

"Valerie! Where's the ghost?" Danny panted as they both ran down the halls that fortunately were absent of adults.

Valerie followed the blinking directional lit arrows on her ghost detector, Danny closely behind.

Slowly, Danny's midnight hair bled white streaks, and his irises bore green rings around the sky blue colors. Ectoplasm melded with his normal clothes and altered the jeans and T-shirt into his signature black turtle-neck and khakis.

Valerie pressed a button on the ghost detector, cladding her in her red uniform.

"Somewhere-" The teen sharply turned a corner, and Danny's shoes squeaked at the sharp turn.

The auditorium doors nearly broke off their hinges at the force of Valerie's foot.

"-In here!"

"And it looks like we've got company." Danny murmured, a scythe materializing in his hand as Valerie grasped her bazooka.

There, fighting the rogue ghost, was the prince of ghosts.

* * *

tbc. 

I'm quite pleased at how the chapter ended.

Yet, I'M SORRY FOR KEEPING YOU ALL WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER! I really hope I didn't loose any readers, but with my luck… -groans-

Kitsune's Dark Shadow


	4. Chapter 4: Shock

**A/N:** Thank you all for your reviews, especially my anon reviewer, Whispers in the Wind. Thank you! So, I'd also like to specially thank, A Fool With Hot Chocolate, Halfnium, Thunderstorm101, Auroral Eclipse, bellajen94, xox Gabi xox, PaCT, RoxasIsReal13, Zafiro Okami, KuroiTama, RavenGhost, Bound2Darkness, (Was that a picture, by the way? The link didn't turn out right) Hunter Hatake and Neko Uchiha, and Golden Feathers Edward.

This week sucked. For the past few days I've had strep throat. –coughs- The odd thing is, I usually don't get sick, but when I do, it ends up being pretty serious and/or enough for me to stay home. And it was a snow day this Monday too! –drowns in misery- I hate being sick.

Enough of my bantering, I bring you the next chapter! Hope you all like it!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Danny Phantom.

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 4: Shock _

"I, AM TECHNUS! MASTER OF ALL THINGS ELECTRONICAL AND HAS A WIRE STICKING OUT OF ITS BUTT! Wait, that didn't sound right." Technus mumbled airily, and screamed when a powerful shot knocked him against the wall of the stage. The ghost rubbed his head, and glared at the smirking prince above him. "CURSE YOU, YOU INSUFFERABLE BRAT! YOU CAN NOT DEFEAT ME! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL-"

"Dude, shut up!" Phantom blasted away Technus's electronic-made hands with an ecto-beam. "What is with the monologues!?"

"They make me feel good, and IT TELLS HOW EXTREMELY ALL POWERFUL I CAN TRULY- NO, _AM_ TRULY A MASTER AT TECHNOLO-AGH!"

Phantom rolled his eyes as he pulled his hand back after blasting the annoying ghost. Was it just his imagination or did all ghosts monologue like that? There was the Box Ghost… Skulker… He made a note to self to tell Tucker and Sam that if he ever started to monologue, to slap him.

And another thing, why rogues were suddenly attacking Casper High so much lately?! True, rogues attacked randomly most of the time, but his instincts warned him that something was definitely up. And he always trusted his instincts. What was it that the rogue ghosts were interested here? From what he knew, the school housed nothing of value nor worth.

Unless that 'what' was a who. The school taught over 300 every year, more than enough targets.

"Just what are you after Technus?" Phantom growled.

The robotic ghost shook himself and looked coolly at the floating prince before him. "It is not what _I_ want. It's what my _employer_ demands."

"Your employer?" Someone was hiring the rogue ghosts to be sent here?

Technus laughed. "YES, BRAT! MY EMPLOYER-!"

Phantom and Technus both turned around as the auditorium's doors crashed open, and two dark forms entered the area.

"-And it looks like we've got company." A young male voice said to his companion next to him.

A female giggle. "Oh-ho! And lookie here. Phantom, the _prince_ is here."

Phantom bristled. Was she laughing at _him? _He was about to demand who they were, but stopped when they walked forward and he had a clear view of their appearance.

The girl was obviously the Red Huntress, accounting for the red jumpsuit and the high tech weapons she was armed with.

And the other…

His breath caught in his throat.

A scythe materialized into the boy's waiting hand.

"Reaper…" Phantom whispered, eyes going wide at the teen. So this was Sam's and Tucker's savior.

* * *

Valerie frowned when she noticed how Phantom stared at Danny and she told herself to keep an eye on the prince. Few were known to actually hold the white haired ghost's attention and interest, and she didn't know if she liked if Danny, even as Reaper, to be one of them. The look Phantom was giving Danny was almost… _appreciating…_ in more ways than one. 

"AH-HA! FOOLISH GHOST HUNTERS!" Technus boomed and they all readied for a monologue, but was surprised when suddenly the ground shook and electronic robots made of appliances floated through the walls to surround them.

"What the-!" Valerie pulled the trigger and blasted away the ghost-robot-thing that had tried to latch onto her leg. Beside her, Danny sliced a robot clean in half when it tried to jump him.

Technus cackled in glee as he saw his robots slowly overpower the ghost hunters and noticed how even Phantom was having trouble now that flying toasters and microwaves were flinging themselves at him. "FOOLS! YOU ALL SHALL PERISH BY MY TECHNO-MINIONS! NOONE SHALL DEFEAT I, TECHNUS! MASTER OF ALL THINGS ELECTRONIC!"

Phantom flew back as a robot crashed into him, and looked up when it was blasted away. He looked up and saw the Red Huntress blow away the slight smoke ghosting from her bazooka.

"Up your game, Phantom. Or you'll get your butt whooped." The huntress advised smugly, before leaping away to a swarm of robots.

Phantom glared at her. He could just _hear _her smirk through the red mask and punched the robot that had dared crawl up to him. He tossed a reproachful look at her before he pulled himself up and flew towards Technus.

* * *

Valerie cursed as she saw herself surrounded and weaponless. Her bazooka lay smashed against the wall and thanks to the stupid robots, and the laser in her watch was disabled. The teen got ready for pain and shut her eyes as they pounced at her, but instead of feeling the cold metal, the sound of falling metal reached her ears. 

She cracked an eye open and sighed in relief.

Danny stood in front of her with his scythe inches from the ground, and the remains of the twitching robots limp on the floor. He turned around and grinned at her.

"Your loosing your touch, Val." Val heard the playful tone in his voice covering up his guilt, and felt her eyes soften momentarily. (_I'm sorry.) _

"Well, it could have something to do with you and that 'Squeaky Toy Incident' last week." She retorted, crossing her arms, and gave the boy a knowing look. (_I don't blame you.) _

"Hey! I said I was sorry! And Cujo doesn't know his own strength. It isn't all my fault that he tossed your _bazooka_ instead of his toy through three houses!" Danny defended, holding his hands up in mock defense. (_I hurt you though…)_

"Tch." Valerie shook her head. (_I forgave you already. Live with it.) _

"Anyways, here, catch!" She heard Danny say, and instinctively caught the object thrown to her, obviously one Danny materialized in thin air. How he was able to do that, she didn't know. All she got from him for an answer was that it was a shrug and secret smile.

She looked over the gun and smiled when she saw the 'F' insignia marked upon its surface. "The Fenton Ecto-gun… Thanks." It warmed her heart how Danny willingly let her use the inventions his parents made, especially since he refused to let anyone else use what was left of his parents' inventions.

Valerie curved her finger around the trigger, hiding the wince at the spark of pain that ignited from her right hand from an old wound Danny had just apologized for. She was sad that Danny still blamed himself, even though she was still a sharp shooter despite her disability.

"No prob." Danny replied and groaned when more robots swarmed around them. "Jeez, they're everywhere?! Where on earth did they all come from?!"

Valerie shot down the group crawling from her left. "My guess is the electronic store that just opened up a block from here."

"Joy." Danny blasted away a particularly nasty- he didn't think toasters could snarl!- robot from trying to take a bite of his leg. "How's Phantom doing?"

Danny saw, from out the corner of his eyes, Valerie roundhouse kick a robot to the wall, before he heard her curse softly.

"Val?" He glanced at her when he cut down another one of Technus's minions.

"Not good."

"What?!" He shot his head to where she pointed to Phantom whom was floating in front of Technus, obviously gloating and making witty banter. Danny would've rolled his eyes at how egotistic the prince was being if he didn't suddenly notice how Technus was…smirking? Danny frowned, and his eyes grew large when he saw Phantom grin victoriously…

"Aw…"

…oblivious to Technus's snarling wires snaking behind him.

"-crud!"

* * *

"LOOK OUT!" 

"Wha-!?" Phantom grunted as he was pushed aside and was about to demand why when he felt his breath catch in his throat as the wires that were behind Reaper -where _he_ previously was before he was pushed out of the way- wrap around the ghost hunter's body and electrocute him with high voltage.

Green eyes widened.

_What…?_

Phantom cringed as a scream tore its way from the dark-haired teen's throat.

"DA- REAPER!" The Red Huntress called in horror and tried to help her companion, but was blocked by more robots floating menacingly. "NO!"

The screams faded to a stop and Reaper slumped, limp in Technus's grasp. His sytch fell from limp fingers onto the ground, where it promptly disintegrated. The ghost laughed treacherously and dangled the unconscious boy in front of the huntress.

"REAPER!" Phantom could feel the rage pulsing from the female's body. The huntress snarled and frantically shot at the wires in vain. "TECHNUS! YOU FILTHY PIECE OF-!"

"Ah-ah-ah." Technus taunted, waving a finger back and forth. "Ladies shouldn't swear."

"THE HELL I WILL!" More ecto-blasts, but the grinning ghost deflected each one.

"Va…Val…" called a voice, quiet enough that only Valerie could only hear. For a moment, Valerie and Phantom both saw Reaper's eyes flutter open weakly and a quiet groan follow.

Valerie's stomach dropped at the pleading tone. It was a call for help.

That was, before, Reaper screamed again as another pulse of electricity shocked him again, making him scream and then slump.

Technus cackled.

Valerie's vision flashed red. "LET HIM GO, GHOST! OR I'LL RIP YOU APART MOLECULE BY MOLECULE!"

Technus just laughed. "My employer specifically ordered Reaper! So if you would excuse me…"

The red suited teen screamed in rage and shot at the ghost but Technus had already gone intangible.

"SO LONG FOOLS! YOU TWO CAN NEVER DEFEAT I, TECHNUS! MASTER OF ALL TECHNOLOGY! REMEMBER THAT!" And with another smirk, Technus disappeared, cackling, along with his remaining robots.

Phantom watched quietly as the ghost hunter shot after Technus, even after he disappeared though the walls. She shot at the bare wall until the gun was out of ammo.

The Red Huntress panted harshly and suddenly, Phantom found himself being pulled roughly by his collar and pushed harshly against the wall.

"YOU!" Violent violet eyes pierced into his shocked emerald. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT THAT DA-REAPER'S GONE!"

There, that slip-up again. But Phantom didn't think much of it when the teen shook him roughly. "LISTEN TO ME!"

"WHAT?" The white-haired ghost shouted at the furious teen, anger finally settling in where the shock had worn out. "How was this, _my _fault?! I wasn't the one to tell him to save me! It was Reaper who got himself kidnapped!"

If possible, it made the other even angrier, and she leaned in close so they were nose to nose.

"Even so, he was kidnapped because of _saving you._" Her gloved hands let go of him, and Phantom couldn't help but be alarmed at the eyes glaring accusingly at him. "You were the one who was in over your head, and about to be zapped like a fly, to a fly zapper. You _owe _him. So get your royal ass up, and _bring him back, prince, or you'll have me to answer to._"

Phantom stared at the girl, before his gaze dropped. '_He did save me and….' _

'_I can't just stand by.' _

Phantom glanced at the Red Huntress levelly. "So, you got a plan, or what?"

* * *

"Oh my god… the Red Huntress!" Tucker cried in full out fanboy mode when Phantom brought his 'friend' into the techno geek's home. "I am like, your biggest fan!" 

Phantom sighed. Somehow he knew this was going to happen. You didn't have to be a ghost or psychic to know how much Tucker adored the female ghost hunter.

Valerie raised an eyebrow. She had a fanboy? "Er- thanks?"

Tucker grinned dreamily, and fawned over her.

Sam- whom was leaning against the counter merely took in the ghost hunter's and Phantom's appearance and frowned. "What happened to you two? You look like crap."

"Technus. Your school." Valerie answered simply and impatiently tapped her foot on the ground, tossing a glance at Phantom. "Hey, prince-boy. I didn't come here to chit-chat with your friends. Where are these allies of yours?"

Sam glared at the Red Huntress, already not liking her at all. "_We, _are his allies."

Valerie turned to Phantom and scoffed. "_Them? _How could they possible help? Do they even have experience ghost fighting?" She doubted it. Sam Manson, the school goth and the secret rich kid? Tucker Foley, Casper High's own techno-geek?

Yeah, right.

If looks could kill, Valerie would've been a stain on the wall.

Phantom placed a gloved hand on Sam's shoulder, and she reluctantly stopped glaring.

"I'll have you know me and Tuck, _can _fight. So don't go around thinking your better than everyone else, even if you are a professional." Sam growled lowly. Looking at the ghost hunter, Sam knew she could immediately dislike her. She had the attitude of someone cocky- not as bad as Phantom, but someone who shoot first and ask questions later.

Sam disliked people like the Red Huntress.

Valerie just sneered at the goth and crossed her arms in displeasure. "Whatever."

Sam looked affronted.

"_Sam… Huntress…" _Phantom warned, not wanting a fight or argument to break out between the two. They were supposed to work together here, not against. He knew setting the huntress and Sam together was a BAD idea now. "C'mon, listen. We gotta work together here. To save Reaper, okay, and fighting each other is not going to help matters."

Green eyes beckoned the professional ghost hunter. "So, Huntress…?"

Valerie sucked in her pride and nodded. She glanced quickly at the goth, and meeting her annoyed, yet resigned gaze, a silent truce was made.

'_For now, that is.' _Valerie thought.

"Okay, listen up. I've found the location of where Technus took Reaper." Valerie pushed a button on her watch (ignoring Tucker's, "Cool watch!") and a 3D image map appeared above her wrist. "According to my charts and the radio waves I collected from Reaper's transmitter, he should be somewhere near the abandoned towers in Amity. Right about…" A red dot appeared in a wide open looking area. "…There."

Tucker's eyes went wide suddenly. "There?!"

Sam looked at Tucker in confusion as did Phantom and Valerie. "What? What's wrong?"

"You mean you guys' never heard?! That's in Viridian Forest!" Tucker said lowly. "It's haunted!"

Phantom snorted and gave Tucker a look. "Haunted? Tuck, you live in the most haunted town in America, your best friend is a ghost, and a realm full of ghosts exists in the many portals, in this town. How much more haunted can you get?"

Tucker still looked unsure. "Yeah, but-"

"'Haunted' or not," Valerie cut in. "I have to get Reaper outta there, and if your too damn scared to go, then I'm going alone."

"_We _will go." The white haired ghost assured her boldly. "Right guys?"

Sam looked adamant. "Of course. Tucker…?"

Shakily, yet determinedly, Tucker nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Phantom grinned and turned to the Huntress. "You see?"

Valerie just made a non committable sound, before looking at Sam and Tucker expectantly.

"So what do you need? I carry melee and range ghost hunting gear."

* * *

Tbc. 

Please review people! The authoress loves them!


	5. Chapter 5: Family

**A/N: **Wow…I have not been updating for a while. In my defense, I've been eaten by school projects ("I hate you, HEP essays…") and finals, which I think weren't too hard. I just took my Spanish II and L.A final last Friday (the 13th). I have a Math final on Monday, and a World History one on Tuesday, which is (thank all the deities up there) THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! (-hears "Hallelujah!" from the voices of angels-) Summer's nearly here!

I'm glad a lot of people like my story. You guys have no idea how happy I was when I read your reviews. Thank you so much for commenting too. Glad to know I ain't sucking at writing. –is happy-

Now, without further ado, let's continue with this story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Danny Phantom, Rapunzel, or Beggin' Strips.

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 5: Family _

"Do you have him?"

The ghost grinned at his superior proudly. "YES, I, TECHNUS, HAVE INDEED CAPTURED, THE-Omph!" A rock fell to the ground after a heavy 'clank!'. The robotic ghost rubbed his head and glared at the shape shifting ghost-butler, Bertrude.

"Use your inside voice, please, Technus." Bertrude said, rolling his eyes in his butler form. Oh god, why did the leader have to pick Technus for this job? He was more annoying than any of the other ghosts.

Well, with the exception of the Box Ghost.

But the box loving ghost was at least _some _sort of entertainment!

Tsk-ing, Bertrude risked a glance up at his employer, noting the smirk that curled on the pale blue face.

"Good, make sure he doesn't escape anytime soon." Their employer flapped his cape and turned around in leave, but his head turned over his shoulder. Red eyes glowed eerily. "Got it?"

**

* * *

**"_They're fighting again." Danny sighed and flinched when the voices behind the closed door increased in volume. "It's differnet this time. They're too angry with each other." _

"_I know, Danny." The oldest bit her lip in worry, and steered the younger away from the loud arguments. She winced though when the voices got almost even louder. "And all because Dad forgot…again." _

_--_

"_WELL THEN, WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE!?" Maddie Fenton yelled._

_Her husband's large frame stalked out of the door, taking no mind of the rain that was soaking his orange jumpsuit. "FINE! THEN I WILL!"_

_--_

_The engine roared to life. _

_Blue and violet pairs of eyes sadly watched the man drive away. They both had an eerily bad feeling about their parents' fight. _

_--_

"_Mom? When's Dad coming back? _

"_I don't know, honey." Maddie bit her lip. She and Jack had their fights, and made up nearly instantly, but where was he now? She had already forgiven him for forgetting (for the fifth time) her birthday, and she was sure he'd come back by now. _

_Thunder cackled above, and Maddie felt-no, knew that something bad was going to happen. _

_--_

"…_And we interrupt this show to bring you news of a devastating accident that happened just minutes ago…" _

_--_

_Danny felt cold; freezing as he walked back from his father's coffin. He vaguely felt Jazz hug him as she cried. He barely even registered feeling a burning, freezing, tear fall down his cheeks. _

"_Jazz… Dad… D-dad can't be d-dead. I don't a-accept that." Danny murmured distantly, that only made his older sister cry harder. _

**

* * *

**Danny's eyelids fluttered open, and he groaned as his body ached painfully. It didn't take him long to remember what had happened before his blackout. Technus. Phantom. The electricity.

'_He electrocuted. He freaking electrocuted me!' _He thought sourly. Despite the pain, he sat up, and craning his head around his surroundings, his brows furrowed. Wait, wasn't this-

'_The tower? I must be in Viridian Forest… But why did Technus bring me here?' _

Danny glanced around. The door was bolted shut, and he could see the anti-ghost shield glowing vibrantly against the walls. The only other entrance to the outside world was the stone window which was also protected with green anti-ghost bars.

No way in or out; his own little prison.

And if he ever did get out, there were sure to be swarms of ghost out there waiting for him. Viridian forest was notoriously famous throughout the ghost zone and human world as being 'haunted', seeing as the forest was where various ghosts of animals resided.

Joy.

Sighing, Danny lied back down on the '_comfortable' _pile of hay he had woken up on and closed his eyes. The dream from earlier came flooding back with a cold feeling in his heart.

"It's been a while since I've had that dream."The black haired teen murmured to himself. How long had it been? 2? 3 years ago?

'_Dad…' _

He still remembered when he, Jazz, and mom had heard the news. One simple phone call, a minute in the news,

"_I regret to inform you that Jack Fenton was killed in a freak car accident. I'm sorry for your loss." _The police man had said.

"_Police have reported that Jack Fenton was hit in a head on collision with a drunk driver. He was rushed to the hospital, but paramedics failed to revive him. Now here we are on the scene-" _The newswoman reported live on the scene.

He remembered breaking down, Jazz hugging him tightly. He remembered hearing mom's muffled cries in her bedroom.

He remembered the door bell ringing, and opening the door to see Vlad there, and the hint of regret etched on the old man's face, that he felt a sick joy at seeing.

He remembered the morbid funeral.

The new wedding.

And then mom…

'_She's happy now. Remember that.' _Danny told himself firmly, willing the icy hurt in his chest that threatened to spread to go away. _'She's okay.' _

Danny started when something gave a small 'beep!'. Frowning, he pulled out the silver necklace/locator hidden underneath his turtle neck shirt and grinned. The locator blinked at him, flashing a hard to notice green pulse.

'_Huh, maybe Val's paranoia WAS a good thing.' _Danny thought, remembering how Valerie made him and herself a locator in case they were separated.

Crossing his arms Danny let out an impatient sigh. Someone definitely wanted him here, and it wasn't only Technus from what he knew, there was no way he could've thought this up. The only other option was that the ghost was _hired _to.

"After all, Technus is smart, but couldn't have done something like this…" Danny murmured.

"Thank you for the compliment, Daniel." A silky, aged voice answered, making Danny stiffen and whip his head towards the voice's owner.

Blue irises widened, before narrowing dangerously and he hissed the name out as if it were a plague. "_Plasmius._"

The vampire-like ghost grinned. "So glad to see you too, my boy."

Danny growled. "I'm guessing you're the reason why I'm here, right? And who sent Technus to attack the school!"

"I congratulate your observation skills, Daniel. And yes, I am responsible for all that." Plasmius replied grinning. "I must say everything worked out quite well, since I got what I wanted."

'_Me.' _"And what do you want with me?" Danny shifted into a defensive stance when a smirk tore across the older ghost's face.

"Son!" Plasmius mockingly opened his arms invitingly, probably for a father-son hug.

"Uh, no! Over my dead body!"

The older ghost gave him a look over and a pointed look.

"…Either way, still never gonna happen!"

Plasmius mock pouted. "Oh Daniel, you could learn much from me, and I could be your new Da-!"

Green rimmed eyes blazed. "I already have a dad, and it will NEVER be YOU!"

Plasmius palmed the ectoplasmic energy shot at him and dispersed it like it was child's play. His playful expression had disappeared and changed into one of exasperation. "The correct term is 'had a dad' my dear boy. The offer still stands, Daniel."

"So does my answer." Danny retorted.

Plasmius lips twitched, before he disappeared, but not before saying, "Well, I hope you have a nice stay till then, then."

Danny glowered, but then realized something with a start.

"Wait-! How'd _he_ get in here in the first place?!"

**

* * *

**"Alright, Manson, I don't like you, and you don't like me, but for god's sake, stop glaring at me!" Valerie hissed, annoyed at how childish the Goth girl was behaving. She absent mindedly rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Of all the people to be with her on this mission, why did it have to be _her? _Even Foley would've been fine. At least then the geek wouldn't be trying to burn a hole through her head.

That, and she didn't really mind the hero-worshiping.

Behind her, Sam crossed her arms, eyes narrowed at the huntress sitting on the log. She shivered slightly and the wind howled ominously. The dark night made it even more unnerving.

'"_Under the cover of darkness" Phantom did say.' _She told herself.

"Someone's coming." Valerie whispered, alert, and crouched into a standard defensive pose.

Sam flipped off the safety mechanism of her ecto-crossbow and searched for anything unusual.

"Level 12 ghost detected. Level 12 ghost detected." Valerie's ghost detector spoke in a cool monotone voice. "'Shoot and ask questions later' method is suggested."

Sam raised an eyebrow, which Valerie ignored.

'_Level 12? The only ghost that high is the Fright Night and-' _

"Sorry I'm- Woah!" Phantom blanched and froze as one barrel and arrow presented themselves in front of his face. "Eh he he… don't shoot?"

Realizing whom it was, Valerie and Sam lowered their weapons, much to the prince's relief.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked, putting a hand on her hip.

Phantom opened the backpack he was holding and grinned sheepishly. "Him."

Sam blinked. "Your dog?"

'_Cujo's Phantom's dog?!' _Valerie realized with a start, when she saw the puppy struggle in the backpack angrily.

"Yeah, I finally found him. He was running around in the park."

"What happened to his collar?" Sam asked, seeing that its neck was bare.

Phantom shrugged. "I don't know. This is like the hundredth time he's lost it and run away" Realizing there was someone else here, Phantom turned to Valerie. "Oh yeah, this is my dog-" Phantom was interrupted when the green dog, seeing a familiar face, jumped out of the pack and into the arms of the Huntress.

Valerie grinned, rubbing the dog behind the ears. "Cujo, I'm guessing?"

Phantom's eyes widened, but then narrowed warily. "Yes, in fact… How did you know?"

The memory of her and Danny gaping as the 'stray' ghost dog sat wagging his tail happily after carving the word, 'CUJO' in the dirt with a stick in his mouth, made her grin wider. "He's a smart dog."

Phantom raised an eyebrow, but didn't question further.

"Wait, if you're here then-" Sam began but was cut off of the cheery cry of, "Huntress!" and a beret wearing boy glomping the said huntress.

"Foley…" In her arms, Cujo sniffed curiously at the fanboy.

"It is destiny!" Tucker cried, smiling ear to ear.

Sam gagged.

Phantom chuckled at the scene they made, and then motioned them to quiet down. "Okay, are we all clear on the plan?"

"Sneak in, snatch Reaper, and get out in one piece. Sounds easy enough." Valerie smirked.

"Don't get too arrogant." Sam muttered, earning a glare from the huntress.

Valerie bristled. "What is your deal Manson?!"

"My deal? What's yours?!"

"I don't have any problems with you, Goth geek, but you're just acting immature."

"I am not, you-!"

"BEWARE! I AM THE BOX-"

"NOT NOW, BOX GHOST!" Valerie yelled, enraged, and promptly blasted the innocent bystander into the horizon, before returned arguing with Sam. Phantom and Tucker both whistled as the box loving ghost screamed all the way.

Tucker let out long amazed sigh and stared adoringly at Valerie. "I think I'm in love!"

Phantom just didn't know how to reply.

**

* * *

**Cujo growled in displeasure. What had he done to deserve this? He didn't do anything wrong!

He was just playing in the park, chasing those colorful flappy bug things, (which did NOT taste like 'butter' at all) and then he saw a flash of white and then, here he was, stuck in a stuffy and not to mention _smelly_ backpack. This was kid-er, dognap!

The flap of the pack opened and Cujo eagerly stuck his head up. _Fresh air! Finally!_ The goodness of it all however was ruined when he spotted his captor, and he narrowed his eyes.

_Bed Sheet Boy_

An angry growl rose in his throat, and he struggled to get out of the bag, to no avail. (He made a mental note to lay off the meat patties that were conveniently laid out on checkered clothed tables at the park) Oh, what he would give to bite the other ghost. It was Bed Sheet Boy's fault that he wasn't chowing down on the flying bugs!

A wet nose sniffed, and its owner's eyes widened when he recognized a familiar smell. His struggles receded and he barked happily when he saw the familiar red cloth of… Red! He jumped at Red (who thankfully caught him) and licked her cheeks. _It's so great to see you! _

He rubbed his head against her palm and almost purred in pleasure as she scratched _that _spot behind the ears. His tongue rolled out of his mouth and his ego swelled, hearing Red say he was smart.

A new smell wafted into the air and Cujo blinked, both dismayed and surprised when the scratching stopped and a dark-skinned boy flung out of nowhere to hug Red. He realized with a cautious sniff that the boy was the kid he saw with Bed Sheet Boy when he was captured: Hamburger.

_Hm… Hamburgers… _

Cujo shook his head out of his hunger-induced reverie and watched Red, Hamburger, the Vampire Lady, and Bed Sheet Boy bicker.

It wasn't long before they stopped arguing (thank god, because it was hurting his ears) and starting being productive. Cujo eyed his surroundings and couldn't help but feel unnerved as they all ventured deeper into the forest.

_What are we doing here, anyways? _Cujo sniffed through Red's pockets to see if she had any doggy treats on her. _Hm… now which pocket had those Beggin' Strips? _

Cujo stiffened, ears standing straight up and his tail holding still, when he caught a faint scent in the air, before he jolted out of Red's arms. His legs moved on their with fevered speed and somewhere in his mind not suddenly occupied with the image of a smiling black haired, blue eyed human-ghost, Cujo registered Red, Bed Sheet Boy, Hamburger, and Vampire Lady following closely behind. He ignored their calls to stop in favor of following the steadily strengthening scent of his 'big brother'.

**

* * *

**"Cujo!" Phantom called.

"Come back here, boy!" Tucker panted as they all chased the runaway pup.

"Phantom! What's wrong with him?!" Sam asked, jumping over a log in her way.

"How should I know?!" Phantom scowled, flying beside her.

"He's YOUR dog!"

"Mom got him in the first place!"

"Oh shut up, you two! He obviously found a familiar scent." Valerie explained. She was flying on her jet pad.

"She's so smart…"

"Not the time, Tucker." The white haired ghost said. Phantom looked over at the Red Huntress. "Who's scent?"

All four stopped when they reached a large clearing. It wasn't Valerie who answered his question, but Sam. Sam gave a stifled laugh as she pointed to the top of a tower where Cujo was sitting in front of and barking up at. Phantom followed where she was pointing and…

"…Wow…"

**

* * *

**Boredom and restlessness made people do many things, especially in bland environments with nothing to do. Some sang songs to pass the time ("I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves…"), some sat quietly and moped ("Why me?!"), and others even talked to themselves ("Hey Danny, what do you wanna do?" "I don't know, Danny, wanna thumb wrestle?"). In Danny's case, he tried all three and then decided to spend some time thinking about stuff he was most curios and concerned about.

The main thing on his mind: The prince of the Ghost Zone himself: Phantom.

Embarrassing enough, he didn't know much about the prince himself. All he knew for sure about him was that Phantom was the son of King Pariah and Queen Dora, and spent a lot of time in the Human world than in the GZ. There were other 'rumors' about Phantom on the internet that he happened upon, but he didn't even want to know what _'The Watcher's Eye' _said about the white haired ghost.

'_I rank Number 2, though.' _Danny thought with a slight grin.

His thoughts drifted to the two humans whom Phantom only ever associated and hung out with: Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. They were both in his Science, P.E, and English classes and were pretty much outcasts just like him. What was more was that unknown to other people in Casper High, was that Sam Manson was a very rich teen, (slightly more so than Paulina Sanchez) and Tucker Foley did indeed have more potential than people gave him credit for.

Danny had conversed with them once or twice, but only when necessary. To students in his class, he was not important; more like a punching back to Dash and his goons.

He heard faint barking, but thought nothing of it.

Then, his train of thought went to Valerie and he wondered if right now, she was tracking him down, which at the time seemed highly probable since his locator was blinking angrily.

The barking was louder, and again, Danny paid no mind.

'_Huh? It's red? She must be close.' _Danny grinned, glad to have such a friend like Valerie. When he thought about it, Valerie was like an older sister to him, especially since Jazz was away right—

"ARF!"

Danny started and instantly went to the window to see what the source of the barking was. He looked down and…

"_Cujo?_"

Cujo must've heard him, for his yips grew excited and more eager.

Danny grinned widely, but that dropped when over Cujo's yips, was the unmistakable human laughs below. He recognized with relief one was Valerie, but curiosity and surprise when he saw the objects of his muses down below with her. Then, he realized something.

'_Wait, why're they laughing?!' _

Valerie approached the tower from below, and calling up, Danny heard her say:

"Hey, Reaper! I found a prince!"

Phantom, laughing to himself, took his cue to walk up next to the Red Huntress and call up:

"Reap-punzel! Reap-punzel! Let down your hair!"

"WHAT?!" Danny touched his head and when he realized bits of blonde hay were clinging to his hair, he turned red. "SHUT UP!"

Once again, Valerie, Phantom, Sam, and Tucker laughed their butt off.

Danny's eye twitched. "Ha, ha, guys. How about coming up here and helping me?"

Valerie grinned. "Alright, alright. Let's get you outta there."

"Huh, I thought this was going to be harder."

Sam and Phantom glanced at Tucker, who had a contemplating expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" Phantom asked.

Tucker shrugged. "Well, you know. In video games, once you find the princess," Reaper narrowed his eyes at Tucker while Valerie stifled another laugh, "some trap is supposed to sprout out, like a trap hole or—"

"A mass of deadly ghost animals led by a malevolence ghost enemy?" Phantom intoned.

"Well, yeah." Tucker nodded. "That sounds about right."

"Then, we're on the right track then." Phantom supposed, and pointed dead in front of them behind the tower. Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Reaper followed where he pointed and…

"Way to jinx us, Tucker." Sam glared at her friend.

"Hello, ghost child." Skulker grinned, while behind him, a bunch of deadly ghost animals stood at his command.

"Ehehehe… how coincidental?" Tucker rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"…Foley…"

**

* * *

**Tbc.

**A/N:** -stretches in chair- Yes…finally… I got this chapter done. This has got to be the longest chapter in the story now; nearly nine pages on Microsoft Word. And I just realized, I made Tucker truly "Bad Luck Tuck". ("Sorry, Tucker, but bear with me here.) ;;;

Last chapter, a reviewer asked about what happened to Danny's parents. Hopefully, this chapter cleared some of that up. It's not a lot, but it's a part of the general picture.

As for Cujo's names for everyone, well… no comment. XD

So, what do you think? Please review! I thrive on them.


	6. Chapter 6: You So Owe Me

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait for the next part of this story. It's just that, for a while, I just haven't been interested in continuing this story, but then, one day (and recently) inspiration bit me in the ass and made me sit down in front of the computer and WRITE... *"..."* I mean, TYPE.

So, here you go people. (I see a LOT of people still like my story even though I haven't updated anything for ages, which I am blatantly amazed of) See ya at the bottom. ^^

Just Like the Story

_Chapter 5: You So Owe Me _

It is at this time in his life, did he think life really suck.

Danny prayed to whatever gods (or goddesses, after all he didn't want to piss them off too) that he would escape this situation with his masculinity intact

And to live down the whole 'Reapunzel' gag. Maybe that army of ghost animals-that-seemed-to-be-intent-on-chewing-on-his-friend's-and-Phantom's-and-his-two-allies'-innards would do him a favor and hopefully smack the annoying-ness outta them.

'_Wait— what?!' _Danny did a double take as he finally registered that there _actually_ _was_ an army of blood/ecto-thirsty ghost animals about to rip his (dare he say it?) rescuers to shreds.

In the back of his mind, a part of him glowered, as another piece of his masculinity seemed to have died. Valerie was sure going to have a field day teasing him about this, that is, assuming they made it out it alive.

He wondered why Phantom and his two…classmates… ("Sam, and Tucker?") were out here at all, but pushed the urge to ask later. Now was definitely not the time to ask questions, so he focused on the more pressing matters.

Danny bit his lip, quickly accessing the situation with slight worry. 10, 20, 30— there were too many to count! How were they going to beat off them _all_ off!? Valerie was a demon in battle, but it was always against small groups. This however…

'_I gotta help.'_

Danny straightened in resolve and furiously looked around his prison again for any way out that he might have missed before. He couldn't leave his best and only friend out there! He didn't know how Phantom faired in a fight, nor Sam and Tucker (_'That was their names, right?' _Danny idly asked himself,_)_ but he didn't trust them to keep her safe.

'_Okay, the walls are blocked, and the door's a no-go.' _Danny grasped the bars on the window. _'And so's the window…' _

A yipping sound snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked down outside where the noise was coming from.

"Cujo?"

Sure enough, the little pup was yapping away, jumping up and down with his paws in the air.

Danny blinked at the strange sight his pup was making. "What?"

Cujo, sensing his confusion, jumped with more vigor, one paw raised higher than the other in the air before giving the black haired teen an expectant look.

'_Does he want me to dance or something?' _Danny shook his head. "I still don't get it. What are you trying to say, boy?"

Cujo seemed to sigh exasperated before the pup fell onto his back, so that he was lying stiff against the ground, head staring straight into the sky.

"Look up?" Danny guessed, and looked skeptic when the dog nodded eagerly—or exasperatedly. "What in the world could be so important up—ohh."

Danny faced-palmed.

Of course; the ceiling! The ceiling had no ghost shield!

Danny shot a thankful look at Cujo, making a note to self to give the pup a whole bunch of snacks once they got home.

The green pup barked in reply, happy to have helped his big brother, even though he was kinda slow. Behind the waiting dog, two rather large ghost-bunnies sneaked up behind him. Cujo looked up curiously as they towered over him and he gave a dog-face-splitting grin...

The ghost-bunnies foamed at he mouth at their soon-to-be-meal.

...before he resorted to his more ferocious form.

Danny, whom had observed the scene with slight sadistic glee, grinned proudly as the two ghosts played, 'Tag' (with Cujo being 'it', of course) around the tower's base.

You had to love that dog.

* * *

"We're all going to diiee!" Tucker moaned, as he shot down a ghost-squirrel whom had been in the process of tossing explosive nuts at him. The beret-wearing teen was frantically shooting left and right, at anything that so even moved, and surprising, his shots all hit their marks. (Playing Doom all day, WAS good for you, apparently)

Further away in a brawl with a couple of ghost-beavers, Sam had abandoned her crossbow and had taken out the an ecto-gun that the Huntress (cue inner-Tucker's swoon) had provided them.

Tucker glanced at Phantom and let out a sigh of relief as he saw that his friend was not in as bad a condition as his opponent was. Skulker's armor was dented in some places, and the flame on the ghost's head (was that supposed to be the ghostly version of his hair?) was significantly lower than it usually was. Phantom was definitely fairing better, although he was sporting a few bruises here and there.

"Stop daydreaming, Foley!"

Tucker snapped out of his reverie at the irate-sounding voice.

"Wha--!?"

Then he got his answer.

Icky, cold, slimy, _goo... _was splattered all across his head and seeping down his shirt.

It took him a moment to realize it was green and glowing, which his mind instantly labeled as—

"EW! GHOST _JUICES_!"

The surroundings ghost-enemies temporarily stopped, stunned, and simply stared. That mistake caused them to be shot back by Valerie's bazooka whom had taken advantage of their stunned state.

"Ew, ew, ew..."

"Quit your whining, Foley." The Huntress said, as she shouldered her weapon. There were less ghosts than there were before, but not by much. Looking at the goop-covered state the other teenager was in and along with his comical expression, Valerie's lips quirked up for a second. The mask part of her uniform covered any traces of it, however.

Tucker grimaced as he felt the goop slide down the bridge of his nose and over his left eye. Yuck, just yuck. He was about to wipe it off with the un-gooped hem of his shirt when a cloth was pushed underneath his nose.

"Wha--?"

"Here, just, take it—and wipe off the 'juices' from your face." Was that mirth in her voice?

Feeling a rather pleasant feeling welling in his chest, Tucker accepted it.

"Thanks."

"...Whatever." The aloofness was back in her voice, and she sprinted down the path towards the tower.

Despite that, Tucker stupidly grinned.

He looked at the handkerchief in his hand...

A ghost-chipmunk got ecto-beamed to the face when it dared interrupt his moment.

...and began to obsessively sniff it.

* * *

Danny used the protruding stones in the stone wall to climb up the side of the wall. He used the butt of his scythe to widen the hole he had found in the roof and wrinkled his nose as a bit of dust irritated his senses.

The teen grasped onto the side of the hole, and pulled himself up, grinning as he saw the dark sky and felt the cold air. He wiggled a bit around the rip in the roof, and released a relieved sigh when he was finally free.

_'Take THAT, Plasmius!' _He thought smugly.

Now the only problem was how to get _down._

Complications, complications...

* * *

"You're going down, Skulker!" Phantom panted as he barrel rolled away from a missile the hunter sent his way. "I beat you once, and I can do it again!"

Skulker scoffed at the youth and retorted with a grin, "Really? What's this I hear about Technus and your fight?"

Phantom twitched. No doubt the hunter probably heard it from the gossip mill known as Kitty. She simply knew _everything _that went on around the human world and the Ghost Zone. (He reckoned it was her boyfriend's shadow that told her all she wanted to know.)

_'And knowing her, so does everyone else in the ghost zone.' _Phantom groaned.

Great.

By the time he probably when home, his mother would be waiting for him there with consolation cake. (1)

...Just _great. _

_

* * *

_Danny looked down the side of the tower and gulped.

That...was a _really _long drop. Sure, he was sorta dead already, but still...

It was at times like this that Danny really hated the fact that even with his ghost powers, he couldn't fly. (2)

So... how to get down—What was that?

Danny blinked as he caught sight of... was that a power line?

What was a power line doing in a haunted forest? As far as he knew, nobody even had the guts to live in a forest infested with killer-ghost-animals-intent-on-chewing-innards-as-a-hobby.

Whatever the reason for it there was, he had just gotten a good idea to get down...

_

* * *

_"Not as strong as you think you are, are you?!" Skulker taunted.

Phantom shot an ecto-beam at the smirking ghost and grinned when it hit him square in the chest. What he didn't expect however, was being engulfed in a ectoplasm laced net and being dragged down to the ground along with the mechanical ghost.

Ok, actually he had expected it; he just didn't expect Skulker to use it _again _in their fight, when it never actually worked.

"Come on, Skulker, you can do better than that!" He easily broke free of the net.

The smug expression on the other ghost's face surprised him though, and he stopped short.

"You're right; I can!"

"Huh?"

Cold, choking fear grasped him as felt a presence appear behind him.

_'Skulker! But when did he move?!' _

Phantom turned and with sudden fear gripping him, he just _couldn't move. _

The cold barrel of Skulker's bazooka pressed against his forehead.

* * *

If Valerie's, Phantom's, and his classmates' lives weren't in jeopardy, he would've found hand gliding down the electricity wire to the ground fun.

Actually, he still found it fun, but that was not what he was feeling right now.

No, he was feeling very pissed. And a Danny pissed was just as bad as a Valerie enraged. (And that very image was mind scarring)

Why?

Explanation A) It could be because he was freezing underneath his sweater. He had taken off his T-shirt that was normally overlapped by his turtle neck when he was 'going ghost' and used it to loop around the power line to slide him down. Nights were always cold in Amity Park, and he was freaking freezing_, _right now.

Explanation B) It could be because he was getting maybe just a _little _tired (translated into cranky) from what he thought was going to be just a regular bad day that had suddenly escalated to Bad Dayx3 with the arrival of a certain Prince.

Or, Explanation C) It could be the fact that said Prince was once again, about to get a face full of PWN just because he was being _so freaking arrogant again. _

Explanation C, no bullcrap.

_'Oh. No. I did NOT save his butt AND GET ELECTROCUTED just for him to be blown into smithereens THE SAME DAY.' _

The green rimmed part of his eyes grew ominously bright.

_'NO. FREAKING. WAY.' _

"I win, ghost chi—AUGH!!" Skulker's triumphant smirk twisted as feet planted themselves into the side of his face, and knocked him spinning away.

Skulker's voice had worn out his shock, and he had been prepared for probably getting his brain blown out, but the sudden kick to Skulker's face had sent him right back into mind numbing shock.

The sudden appearance of a certain streaked-haired Reaper, just made that shock (and was that relief?) multiply tenfold.

Reaper gave him a once over and before a pointed look.

"You so owe me."

* * *

He was quick at these sort of things; having gotten use to the beat ghost and capture in thermos, routine. So, it was second nature to him when he jerked a miniature version key-chain of the Fenton thermos (since he didn't have the thermos himself) and sucked the groaning Skulker with feet prints imprinted on his cheek into the even more-so cramped containing device.

He turned when the blue light of the thermos faded, intent on giving the white haired ghost a piece of his mind, but stopped short at the sight that met him.

Danny's anger instantly vanished into amusement as he saw the Prince's jaw drop comically.

Maybe this day wasn't as bad as he had thought.

**

* * *

A/N:** Okay, I have no idea how any Tucker/Valerie got in there (I didn't intend it), but I'm glad how that part and this chapter turned out. ^^ By the way, I didn't see it before, but my god, the fifth, this and probably the next chapters are like an ARC now: /The Reapunzel Arc/ … :D

...I don't know. -shrugs-

(1) Got it from a TV show my sister watches a lot. Virtual cookies to anyone whom can guess from which show!

(2) That's right, Danny can't fly like the other ghosts can. Trust me, there WILL be explanations later on, however brief they may be.

So, review please guys! I'm already working on chapter 7! :D

Anyways, 'till next time,

KDS

* * *


	7. Chapter 7: A Little Bit Closer

A/N: Hey all, long time no see! It just occurred to me how much people like my stories, and it took an anonymous reviewer to actually get that through my head to get my lazy ass up and finish the chapter I had suddenly forgot about. ^^;; Thank you all whom have stuck with me all the way here! ^^ (In other news, I've got huge huge huge tests all next week. I pray to whatever girl or guy up there that I pass them.)

I have no idea why I'm telling y'all this, but the weather is REALLY weird, where I live. This morning gifted me with snow piling down on my house. Then it rained, then it got all windy (hurricane-like windy!) then...sunny. The sunny-ness died to cloudy and rain/hail. Now, its sunny again with barely a cloud in the sky! I tell ya, Mother Nature's on crack!! O.o

Okay...now back to the story.

Just Like the Story  
_Chapter 7: A Little Bit Closer_

_In the Ghost Zone Castle... _

"King Pariah, Queen Dora, I have some documents that need to be... What are you doing?" Fright Knight asked mid-sentence as he walked into the study where the King and Queen of the Ghost Zone were currently muttering to each other. The moment he asked, the two both turned in unison so that there backs covered whatever was sitting on the desk. They instantly let out a sigh of relief when they saw it was only their advisor. "Is something the matter?"

Dora greeted the knight politely. "No, nothing... we're just...checking something."

Pariah looked distracted as he answered. "Yes... checking." His gaze wandered back to whatever was behind their backs.

Somehow, he didn't want to know what. Whatever it was, it surely had to do something with Prince Phantom. (After all, the two _were _pretty careful parents depending how you looked at them. Besides, King Pariah mainly only cared about two things that he would actually put effort into: His family and fighting)

And Fright Knight knew that anything to do with Prince Phantom, always involved him as some sort of messenger boy... or scapegoat.

"Should I come at another time, or..." Oh god, _please. _Fright Knight began to lowly inch towards the door.

"No, no! Stay! Actually, we have a mission for you." Crap. And she had that scheming look in her eyes again. It was simply _demonic_. (_'Draconic, more like it.' _Fright Knight added in afterthought.)

Fright Knight looked towards Pariah, praying for help_, _but even Pariah looked as crazy as his wife.

"You see, Fright Knight, it has come to our attention that our son has been getting into some... trouble as of late."

"Trouble?" Fright Knight echoed in a questioning tone. Of course the Prince always got into trouble! But why were they so concerned _now? _"It isn't serious, is it?"

Dora waved his suggestion away. "No, No, Fright Knight. Just simply, he's been..." She didn't know quite what to say. " I think maybe you should just see for yourself."

Dora and Pariah both moved aside and the ghost advisor blinked when he saw that it was a laptop they had been hiding from him. He took a closer look, curious as to what the blinking point on the screen represented. "What's this?"

"That's Phantom." Dora said.

It took the knight a moment to fully take in the answer. "Your highnesses, you're _tracking _Phantom?!" He idly recognized the map program they were using. It was extremely useful for it detected ghost energies as well with green dots signifying the ghosts.

"But of course!" Dora said as if she was talking about the weather.

"'Sides, the boy gets in enough trouble as it is. If he were ever used against us like kidnapping or blackmail, we'd already know where he'd be and then bam! The fools would be tossed in Walker's Jail!" Pariah laughed.

Who was he to question the King's logic? "I see, my King." The area the spot was blinking in made the advisor frown. The Viridian forest was well known for its population of rabid ghosts. The Ghost Zone Kingdom never worried about the forest because it was common knowledge that the creatures there never bothered anyone lest you creep upon their territory. That was why it was abandoned.

Around the blinking red dot was many other green ones moving around. But as soon as the green dots got near the red one, it almost immediately vanished. "At least he knows how to take care of himself."

Dora agreed, but stiffened slightly in alarm when one green dot seemed to have made contact with her son. She released a relieved sigh however when it was quickly pushed away.

Pariah's lip curled. "Hm... I think their population multiplied since last I've seen them. Fright Knight, go with some troops to rid the pests, will you?"

"It will be done." Fright Knight said, bowing, before leaving the room. Inwardly, the dark knight grinned at his king's way of worrying over and sending help to his son.

* * *

"Y-You..."

"Yep, me." Danny grinned lopsidedly.

"Reaper!"

Danny turned around and grinned as he saw Valerie run over to him with Sam and Tucker closely behind. He inwardly felt relieved when he saw that she didn't have any major injuries; just a few scratches here and there.

"Glad, you're alright." Reaper said to them all when they reached him and Phantom.

The girl—Sam, put a hand on her hip. "We should be the one asking you that... Reapunzel."

_'NEVER. GONNA. LIVE. DOWN.' _Danny's eye twitched.

Universe: 2 Danny: -4

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Danny coughed to will away the embarrassment.

Phantom saw a hint of redness fill Reaper's cheeks, and couldn't help but smile at the...cuteness of it.

_'...I did not just think that.' _Phantom swallowed. What the hell was he thinking? And at a time like this! He was oblivious to the simply demonic look Sam sent his way that would've sent his senses going, 'DANGER'.

* * *

Sam smirked devilishly, but covered it with an innocent expression.

"We—actually, _Phantom_ here," Phantom jerked up at the call of his name. "wanted to thank you for saving his butt by saving your butt." (1) Sam replied smoothly. She reveled in the ruffled glare that came from Phantom, and the—'_Was that a blush?'_—from her and Tucker's savior days prior.

Sam raised an eyebrow as she saw the apparent redness in Reaper's face as well and looked back and forth between him and Phantom.

_'Maybe...?' _The goth resisted to urge to smirk and cackle. No need to scare the children after all.

Her gaze rested on the amused-looking Red Huntress. From the way she'd seen Reaper and the Huntress interact, they were obviously close in what she'd guess would be a brother-sister relationship. (She couldn't see that seemingly shy looking ghost hunter being the one to actually _initiate _anything, either.)

The Huntress was obviously the over-protective one, and if overprotective siblings were what she heard they were like... and if she so happened to catch wind of this...

Phantom would NOT make it out in one piece.

Sam gave it a good two second thought.

_'Heh, he'd live.' _The corners of Sam's lips curled. _''Sides, I've always wanted to match-make...'_

* * *

Growls immediately interrupted their bickering and diverted their attentions to the remaining foaming-at-the-mouth ghost animals.

"...We're gonna diiee!" Tucker moaned again, throwing his head back to wail it. But nevertheless, aimed his ecto-gun, as did the others.

Then, they were upon them.

* * *

"Say, Danny?" Valerie asked when Phantom, Sam, and Tucker were out of ear-shot.

Danny sliced at a ghost and it immediately disappeared to the ghost zone. His scythe had a real nifty ability to do that, much to his pleasure. It saved him a lot of time and scrambles to grab a thermos, but it took A LOT of concentration to preform correctly. "Yeah?"

Valerie elbowed away a flying squirrel and sweep kicked some ghost-rabbits. "How did you get out of the tower, anyways? I was going to blow the pile of stone down!" She smirked.

Quickly, Danny gave her the whole explanation as they continued fighting. When he finished, Valerie was chuckling at the methods he used.

"Well, that's one way to get outta there." She 'eek'-ed and ducked as a ghost-snaked launched over her head. A pained yelp brought her attention back to Danny, and she cursed at the ghost-boar that had managed to disarm him and blast him into a tree.

After shooting the ghost, she looked at Danny. He didn't look too good. He was swaying as he got to his feet, looking more than a bit dazed. Why was he looking so—Valerie gasped.

Valerie took his shoulders and made sure to maneuver them away from sight. When they were, she shook him to get him to look at her. "Danny! Listen to me! How long?! How long have you been in this form?!"

"Some..." The world was spinning slightly, but nevertheless, Danny tried to focus. He knew his friend was talking about something important. "Some... six-...ish hours?"

Valerie peeled back an eyelid that fallen close as he answered and clucked her tongue when she saw it was dilating. They didn't have much time.

A while back, they had both tested their limits; Danny's more so than hers. They had found that, in ghost form, Danny could last up to seven hours before finally collapsing. And that was without doing any strenuous activities.

Being in it six hours and still fighting however...

"We gotta go."

Danny instantly protested, and willed his mind to unfog. "No! We can't leave! Not yet!"

"You're about to collapse!" Valerie argued and activated her jet board.

"But we can't leave them alone here!"

"You don't even know them!"

"But they came to help! They wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me!"

_'Dammit Danny, why'd you have to play that card.' _Valerie sighed, weighing her choices. They had to leave or risk Reaper's identity being revealed, but then again, she had no idea if the Prince, Manson, and Tu—Foley would really take out the rest. It didn't take a genius to tell that they were all bone-deep exhausted.

Valerie couldn't see an option Danny would agree with. "Danny, I don't see any other way! We have to—"

"GO, MEN!" A voice called from above. "APPREHEND ALL THAT DARE TO ATTACK THE PRINCE AND HIS COMPANIONS!"

"Is that...the Fright Knight?" Valerie croaked out in disbelief.

Danny was dumbfounded.

"Holy crap."

* * *

Elsewhere, Phantom, Sam, and Tucker were just as stunned.

"Looks like the calvary's arrived." Sam murmured in relief, propping an elbow upon Tucker's shoulder to lean on.

"We're gonna liiivvee!" Tucker yay-ed.

Phantom shot a bear away before watching Fright Knight on his horse charge into battle. The calvary of minions trailed behind him, waving swords and crossbows. For once, he was glad to see his Godfather/baby sitter/mentor here.

The three rested as the ghost animals were quickly dispersed. And after some moments, it was finally over.

* * *

"You guys saved our butts! Thanks!" Tucker grinned at a skeleton minion, thumping the ghost's back. The force of the action however propelled the skulled head off.

"Agh!"

"Uhh..." Tucker picked the head up, wiped in with his shirt, and placied it back on the skeleton's shoulders, all the while grinning nervously.

"Phantom!"

The said ghost glanced up at the voice calling his name. Phantom waved away the bow Fright Knight gave him, and shot the guy a grateful smile. "Thanks for the help."

"Yeah, if you guys weren't here, we would've been ghost-chow." Sam commented. Tucker beside her agreed.

Fright Knight nodded. "No trouble at all. King Pariah and Queen Dora sent me to help." He ignored the questioning look sent his way, and instead gave the Prince a look over, checking for any major injuries. He tilted his head to the side when he noticed something odd. "Prince Phantom, did you get a haircut?" He asked, staring at it curiously. Was that some sort of new thing going around the human world? (The Ghost Zone tended to mimic the styles of the human world from time to time. To have ghost citizens parade around like that... Fright Knight shuddered to think.) Humans sure had the strangest of tastes...

As though Phantom seemed to know what he was thinking, he set his mouth in a firm line. Sam and Tucker looked curiously at him, before they too finally noticed the state in which his hair was in.

"...I was attacked by a bear." Came the calm reply.

Fright Knight inwardly winced as Phantom glared at anyone whom dared to laugh. "I...I see."

Tucker made a strangled sound in the back on his throat.

"...I'm gonna go over there now." Phantom pointed in a random direction, and left.

It was only when he was out of ear shot did Sam, Tucker, and Fright Knight finally guffaw.

_

* * *

'If they don't shut up in the next ten seconds, I'll sic Pauline on them.' _Phantom thought darkly, frantically flattening his slightly charred and now way too gravity-defying white hair.

The ghost sighed, about to make his way back to the group, when he suddenly caught sight of something fluttering on a branch.

"What is this?"

* * *

"A T-shirt?" Sam repeated the next day. It was Saturday and she, Tucker, and Phantom were once again, gathered in her basement after Phantom had called them all to meet and discuss something he had found that night.

Phantom nodded as Tucker examined the tee. "Yeah. It has some splashes of fresh ecto-plasm on it, so whoever it belongs to must have been there some time last night."

"Hey, guys..." Tucker began as he studied the red loop sewn on the frayed tee. Was it just him, or did it look a bit familiar?

Sam's brow furrowed. "But we didn't see anyone there except Reaper and Huntress. No one was even screaming, 'AH! GHOST', either, like anyone else would."

"Guys?" Tucker tried again to get their attention.

Phantom crossed his arms. "Far as I know, that forest's been abandoned too. So I doubt anybody would be living there, even though there WAS a power line--

"GUYS!" Sam and Phantom jumped, and both swung around to Tucker. "Finally gotten your attention, huh?"

"Sorry, Tuck." Phantom said. "What were you gonna say?"

"Well, you see the shirt?" Tucker held the frayed shirt wide with both hands. "Doesn't it look familiar?"

Phantom shook his head in a negative, but Sam jerked up. "Hey, you're right! Isn't that Danny Fenton's shirt?"

_'That guy again...' _Phantom's brows creased at the mention of the boy they'd compared to Reaper that day in the library. Finally, he asked the question that was on all their minds.

"What was he doing there last night?"

Tbc.

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A/N: -snickers- The story is finally coming together!

Right! So, last chapter I had a little mini-challenge as to where the term, 'Consolation Cake' came from. And we have a winner!! Congratulations otakurose16!! Yup, the consolation cake thing was from the Replacements. A lot of people said it was from the Fairy Odd Parents, which also may be true. I don't know for sure 'cause I don't have cable all the way up to Nick. ^^;;

Well, enjoy your virtual cookies, otakurose16! ^^

Oh yes, one other thing!! I was reading over the chapters, and realized I had a PLOT HOLE. It's not something really that important, but its noticeable enough. Good thing is, its easy to fix with a simple itty bitty thing.

CUE LITTLE MINI-CHALLENGE: Can anyone guess what the little plot hole was? ^^

Please read and review! I love the reviews I get!

KDS


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